The human microbiome is a highly sensitive ecosystem that carries out important tasks for digestion and immune defence. The prerequisite is that it is balanced. Dysbiosis, an imbalance in the intestinal flora, can lead to various different illnesses such as antibiotic-related enteritis.
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There is a lot going on in the human intestines. Around two to three billion bacteria romp around in our insides. Physicians call the bacterial ecosystem a “microbiome”. More than 1,400 different types of bacteria live in the intestinal microbiome alone, and until recently, very little was known about their interaction. Only recent microbial sequencing has made it possible to figure out and name some strains of bacteria. One thing is clear: the microbiome in the intestines is composed differently in each person and is oriented on, among other things, geographical origin, nutrition and environment. Thus each person has a kind of microbial fingerprint. Our microbiome has changed radically in the last few decades, and the main reason for that is the use of antibiotics.
The field of probiotic medicine in Europe now assumes that the frequent administering of antibiotics may cause an imbalance in the intestinal microbiome. The consequences: persistent and even bloody diarrhoea due to a recurring clostridium difficile infection. Accordingly, antibiotics destroy not only “bad” bacteria but also “good” ones that actually produce substances that secure the survival of beneficial bacteria. This allows pathogenic bacteria to reproduce on a large scale and “take over” the intestines.
A Grazer research group studied the mechanism of illness occurrence based on the bacteria Klebsiella oxytoca. In healthy people the bacteria is harmless, as it is kept under control by other intestinal bacteria. However, if there is an imbalance in the microbiome due to an uncontrolled ingestion of antibiotics, Klebsiella can reproduce in large numbers. Researchers have found the reason for this: certain strains of the bacteria Klebsiella oxytoca form the toxin Tivallin. In the intestines, this substance destroys the cells of the intestinal mucous, and the protective barrier ceases to work. The consequences are severe enteritis and diarrhoea, which can sometimes be bloody.
The pipeline is empty
This presents the field of medicine with new challenges, since the development of antibiotics has reached its limits, particularly in terms of enterococci that live in the intestines and which can cause severe infection. The increase in resistance makes it more difficult to treat this infection. The field of probiotic medicine now assumes that the body’s protective function works only when “good” germs dominate. Healthy germs disable hazardous pathogens that can cause severe infection. There are now excellent studies showing that pathogens can be combatted with the help of healthy intestinal flora.
Probiotics can contribute greatly to the prevention and treatment of diseases and are therefore very important for the future of medicine, according to various studies that have examined the effect of pre- and probiotics on the stabilisation of the microbiome. Accordingly, different probiotics have been found to have an anti-inflammatory and mucous-stabilising effect. For example, the bacteria “Faecalibacterium prausnitzii” has a mucous-stabilising effect. The bacteria produces butyric acid, which is anti-inflammatory and can maintain the intestinal barrier.
In order to preserve the balance between “good” and “bad” bacteria in the intestines, doctors therefore recommend on the one hand conscious nutrition with “good” microorganisms that have a pre- and probiotic effect. On the other hand, the considered and careful use of antibiotics is recommended. Among children under the age of 4 in particular, the intestinal microbiome is still being developed and can be thrown out of balance with the premature administration of antibiotics.
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